Automatic feeding mechanism.



PATENTED SEPT. 5, 1905.

R. N. ORANFDRD. AUTOMATIC FEEDING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 22, 1004.

I I I I 1! 31 I W INVENTOIE WM a MN I Wm! (20.. mmsmwmumn Inn-0mm 0. I;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUTOMATIC FEEDING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 5, 1905.

Application filed December 22, 190 Serial No, 2383 .l'o (til whont it Duty concern.-

Be it known that I, RALPH N. CRANFORD, of Brooklyn, New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Automatic Feeding Mechanism, which invention is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for feeding materials, particularly such as sand and the like, from a hopper, bin, pile, bank, or other place of accumulation or storage.

The objects are to provide an apparatus or mechanism capable of continuously and regularly feeding the material in measured quantity irrespective of its condition as to dryness or dampness, the apparatus being adj ustable to vary, within certain limits, the rapidity of feed.

Serious difiiculties have heretofore been experienced in feeding sand, particularly when damp, from a large pile. The weight above packs the sand quite tightly at the point of feed, (usually the contracted end of a hopper,) so that bridges or arches formed in the sand over the feed element have suflicient strength to support the body of material above. So far as i am aware this difficulty has been experienced with all feed mechanisms of this character employed prior to my invention, particularly mechanisms susceptible of installation at reasonable expense. Interruptions in the operation of the mechanism are necessary in order to break up such bridges or arches. It is usually very difficult to obtain access to the latter for this purpose. The principal object of my invention is therefore to provide feed mechanism which will prevent the formation of such arches or bridges.

The novel and distinctive features of my invention will be most readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of the same as applied to a hopper or bin.

Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of the hopper looking in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 3. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3 4, Fig. 2. Fig. i is a sectional view on line 5 6, Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is a detail view.

I) is a hopper, so formed that its inclined walls lead the material to an exit-opening near the lower end of one of the walls or slopes, the passage of material through said opening being controlled and effected by a rotary feed-drum. The construction of said drum constitutes animportant feature of the invention. Two circular end disks a a are connected by a central core A and by equidistant blades or paddles a, radiating from the core. As illustrated, the core is hollow and of octagonal form in cross-section, and the blades a radiate from the edges or angles at which the adjacent surfaces of the core meet, thereby forming around the drum eight compartments. It is important that the edges of the disks (I project some distance beyond the outer edges of the blades (0. By cutting into the material beyond the edges of the blades the disks a act to continually loosen the material in the vicinity of the drum, thereby preventing the material from forming bridges or arches over the drum. In practice excellent results have been obtained by making the disks a asomething over two feet in diameter, the core a and the blades a ten or twelve inches in length, and the blades of such width as to project to within about two inches or more of the edges of the disks a a. course, be employed, depending to some extent upon the natureof thematerial to be fed.

T he feed-drum is mounted upon and rotates with an axle-r, journalcd in bearings a s, the latter being secured to the inner edges of two beams E F. In order that these bearings and the driving connections to be described hereinafter may be located outside of the sloping or inclined wall of the hopper, that part of said wall which is located between said beams is set out or protrudes farther than the rest of the wall. J ib-panels H H of triangular form, as shown in 3 and 4, are securedone along the inner edge of each beam E and F. The boards 7, forming the protruding part of the wall, are supported at their ends on the inner edges of the beams. (See Fig. 3.) The boards 5 and 6, forming the outer portions of the wall, are supported at their ends along the inner edges of the jib-panels H. Shaft s passes through openings in the panels H, bearings s a being located outside of said panels easily accessible for lubricating purposes. That portion of the walls between the beams E and F is formed in part by plate K, preferably of steel, through which the feed-opening K is formed. Said opening corresponds closely to the outline of the drum, particularly at its lower edge, where the blades a a work in notches m 71/, and the lip 11 between the latter, is just cleared by the blades of the drum as the latter rotates in the direc- Any other suitable dimensions may, of-

\ ing the gate and passing the foreign material to the outside of the hopper without injury to the apparatus. For rotating the drum I have shown the following means: P is a suitably-driven power-shaft, to the end of which is secureda disk or wheelT. Aratchet-wheel B, secured to a projecting end of shaft 8, is engaged by pawls r r, pivoted in rock-arms V V, the latter being forked at one end to bridge the sprocket-wheel and journal on the shaft 8 on opposite sides of said wheel, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. A spring 7' holds pawl 'r in engagement with ratchet-wheel B. Pawl r rests by gravity in engagement with the ratchet-wheel. A wire loop 1 associated with each pawl, is adapted to engage the end thereof to hold it out of engagement with the ratchet-wheel, so that only one rock-arm and its pawl may, if desirable, be utilized to impart rotary movement to the drum. When only one pawl is thus used, the drum will of course receive but half the speed of rotation that would be imparted by the simultaneous action of both pawls. The crank-pin t is connected with the rock-arms V V by pitmen R R, respectively. Each pitman is pivoted on a pin N, which projects from a block W, adapted to slide along the outer end of the rock-arm V or V and to be secured in any position of adjustment by a thumb-screw r. A feed-screw 0, Fig. 1, is provided for moving each block W to the desired position of adjustment. By adjusting the blocks r toward or from the shaft 8 the extent of oscillation imparted to the rock-arms V and V on each rotation of the shaft P may be varied with corresponding change in the speed of rotation of the drum and variation in the quantity of material fed by the latter.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a bucket-conveyer Q passing over a pulley q, (in a pit (1,) to

which the material is delivered by the drum.

It is advantageous to locate the deliveryopening in an inclined wall or slope, near. its lower end, rather than at the lowermost point where the sloping walls meet, and to so dispose the drum that about or nearlyhalf of it projects through said opening. These characteristics also tend to prevent the formation of arches or bridges over the drum.

The manner of operation of the apparatus will befully understood from the above description of its construction. Obviously the drum intermittently rotated in the direction of the "arrow, Fig. 3, will continuously and.

uniformly feed material from the hopper or pile at a speed depending upon the adjustmentof the pitmen and the use of one or both pawls. I V

The wall in which the feed -opening and drum are located need not necessarily form part of a hopper. It may be simply a wall against which one side of a pile of material is banked.

Modifications may be made within wide limits, as the essential and distinctive features of the invention may be embodied in various forms.

What I claim is 1. In apparatus for feeding material from a pile, hopper or the like, the combination of a rotatable feed-drum working in a delivery-v opening and projecting therethrough into the material to be fed, said drum having one or more disks or plates transverse to its axis and blades or paddles longitudinal to its axis, the edges of the disks being exposed or unshielded and projecting beyond the outer edges of the blades into contact with the materialto be fed, and means for rotating the drum.

2. In apparatus for feeding material from a pile, hopper or the like, the combination of a rotatable feed-drum working in a deliveryvopening and projecting therethrough into the material to be fed, said drum having end disks or plates transverse to its axis and blades or paddles between the disks and longitudinal to the axis, the edges of the disks being exposed or unshielded and projecting beyond the outer edges of the blades into contact with the material to be fed, and means for rotating the drum.

3. In apparatus for feeding material from a pile, hopper or the like, the combination of a sloping wall against which the material is banked or accumulated, a rotatable feed-drum working in a delivery opening in said wall and projecting therethrough into the material to be fed, said drum having end disks or plates transverse to its axis and blades or paddles between the diskslongitudinalto the axis, the edges of the disks being exposed or unshielded and projecting beyond the outer edges of the blades into contact with the material to be fed, and means for rotating the drum.

4. In apparatus for feeding material from a pile, hopper or the like, the combination of a sloping wall against which the material is banked or accumulated, a rotatable feed-drum working in and closely conforming to the shape of a delivery-opening through said wall, said drum having end disks or plates transverse to its axis and blades or paddles between the disks longitudinal to the axis, the edges of the disks being exposed and unshielded and projecting beyond the outer edges of the blades into contact with the material to be fed, a swinging gate normally closing a IIO portion of the delivery-opening above the drum, means exerting pressure to normally close the gate but adapted to permit the gate to open to pass mate'rialot' abnormal size, and means for rotating the drum.

5. In apparatus for feeding material from a pile, hopper or the like, the combination of a sloping wall against which the material is banked or accumulated, said wall having an outwardly protruding portion, a rotatable feed drum working in a delivery opening through said protruding portion of the Wall, said drum having end disks or plates transverse to its axis and blades or paddles between the disks longitudinal to the axis, the

ing witnesses.

RALPH N. GRANFORD. Witnesses:

N. V. (JRANFoRo, S. N. PEUCHOER. 

